Electromagnet self-attaching vibrator



vOct. 8, 1963 R. D. BURT 3,106,652

ELECTROMAGNET SELFATTACHING VIBRATOR Filed Jan. 10, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. EALPHD. Bug?- H /5 A rroeue'v Oct. 8, 1963 R. D. BURT ELECTROMAGNET SELF-ATTACHING VIBRATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 10, 1958 INVENTOR. RALPH mw Due?- H/& A Trainer United States Patent Ofi."

3,106,652 Patented Oct. 8, 1963 3,106,652 ELECTROMAGNET SELF-ATTACHIN G VIBRATOR Ralph D. Burt, Homer City, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Link-Belt Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation 'of Illinois Filed Jan. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 708,272 7 Claims. (Cl. 310-17) This invention relates generally to vibrators and more particularly to vibrators having an electromagnet for the purpose of attaching the same to a metal object to be vibrated.

In applying vibrators to dump cars it is ordinarily necessary to attach a mounting member on the car on which the vibrator is mounted during the time that it is used to vibrate the car. Intermeshing dovetailed castings, the one on the vibrator and the other on the car are employed to detachably secure the vibrator to the car. These castings of course require one to be bolted in place on the car, which consumes time and requires the use of tools. The consumption of nonproductive time and the use of tools represents a problem in industry where it is necessary to empty the car as quickly as possible, Whether it be a railroad hopper car or a small coal mine hopper car.

This problem has been solved by the present invention in the provision of an electromagnet device to hold the vibrator in close contact with the metal part of the car Without the use of special mounted castings or without the use of other fastening means that require tools for attaching and detaching the vibrator to the car.

To prevent the vibrator from walking over the surface of the car when its electromagnet has the same attached thereto, the vibrator together with its magnet is suspended. This suspension supports the weight of the vibrator and thus releases the electromagnetic energy for the purpose of causing the vibrator to tightly cling to the metal object to be vibrated and when it is desired to remove the vibrator from the object being vibrated one merely deenergizes the electromagnet and permits the vibrator to swing free, being totally supported on its suspension cable. The suspension cable provides means for supporting the electric cable from the source of power to the vibrator as well as to the electromagnetic holding device. It may also be employed to carry the pressure and the discharge fluid if the vibrator is of fluid actuated type.

Being suspended the vibrator with its electromagnetic holding device may be readily removed from the immediate vicinity of the car owing to the fact that the suspension permits the vibrator to be swung into or out of position.

Another advantage of this invention is the fact that the electromagnetic device employed to support the vibrator on the device to be vibrated forms the structure through which the vibrations are applied to the device being vibrated. Thus the heavy iron core making up the electromagnet provides an improved heavy base through which to transmit the vibrations to the device being vibrated.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the following description and claims.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplification without limiting the invention or claims thereto certain practical embodiments of the invention wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fluid actuated vibrator having an electromagnetic holding device through which the vibrations are transmitted.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the structure shown in FIG. 1 illustrating a novel form of fluid vibrator.

FIG. 3 illustrates an application of two vibrators to a mine car.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an electromagnetic vibrator having an electromagnetic holding device.

Referring to the drawings, the vibrator shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is made up of the electromagnetic holding device 1 having an E-shaped core member 2 made up of the usual transformer iron and presenting three spaced pole faces 3, 4 and 5. An electromagnetic coil 6 is mounted around the center stern of the core 2 and is enclosed by the side shield members 7 and the face plate 8, which is indented from the pole faces so as to permit the latter free access to the surface on which it is to clamp the vibrator.

The electromagnet is mounted on the base plate 10 which in turn is removably bolted to the base plate 11 of the fluid vibrator 12 by means of the bolts 13. These bolts also hold the strap members 14 which are employed to suspend the vibrator with its electromagnet attaching device so that it may be swung into and out of position as illustrated in FIG. 3. The strap members 14 have secured thereto suspension cable members 15 and attached to the suspension cable 15 are the electromagnetic operating cables 16 which function to energize the magnet. As shown in FIG. 4, an additional cable 17 is employed to carry electric current to the electromagnetic vibrator 18 mounted thereon.

Referring to FIG. 2, the fluid vibrator 12 comprises the piston member 20 which is secured to the base plate 11 and is stationary relative to the device. This piston member is hollow and has the fluid pressure connection 21 leading to its bore for the purpose of carrying the high pressure for the operation of the vibrator. The outer end of the bore of the piston threadably receives the valve guide 22, the bore of which slidably carries the valve member 23. This valve member is preferably a solid stem provided with a beveled valve surface 24 at its outer end which mates and seals on the valve seat 25. The valve member 23 is provided with an abutment 26 having opposite faces, one face of which is engaged by one end of the main valve spring 27 the other end of which engages the guide member 22 supported by the piston 20. The opposite face of the abutment 26 is engaged by the secondary valve spring 28, the opposite end of which engages the piston. The spring 28 being lighter than the spring 27 functions to seat the valve surface 24 on the valve seat 25.

The bore of the piston 26 is connected through a series of openings 30 to the chamber 31 which is enclosed by the movable cylinder 32, which is a weighted member having a bore that slidably fits over the piston and the spaced bearing rings 33 to slidably support the cylinder on the piston. A piston ring 34 is also supported on the piston to seal the chamber 31 which is enclosed by the valve surface 24 being seated against the valve seat 25.

The cylinder 32 has a weighted section 35 which fits the filleted end of the piston and has clearance with the casing 36 that completely encloses the structure and is provided with the cover plate 37 that functions to support the end of the load springs 38, the other end of which engages the weighted section 35 of the cylinder 32. Thus the heavy spring 38 functions to maintain the weighted section 35 of the cylinder in contact with the base of the piston and also maintains the valve seat 25 at its innermost position when the chamber 31 does not contain trapped fluid. The casing 36 forms the chamber 40 to which the exhaust 41 is connected. A breather, such as illustrated at 42, is also connected to the chamber 40 and is placed on top of the vibrator.

The fluid pressure is supplied through a check valve to the inlet 21, the bore of the piston passing through the openings 3% to the chamber 31 where the pressure builds up. This increases the holding pressure on valve 23 more tightly and causes both the valve and cylinder to move to the right expanding the chamber 31, compressing main valve spring 27 and load spring 38 and decreasing the load on auxiliary spring 28. Thus the force trying to unseat the valve 23 increases as the chamber 31 increases and the ratio of the main load spring and the main valve spring is so proportioned that after a definite stroke of the cylinder and valve the force of the spring 27 overcomes the fluid pressure causing the valve to be unseated. Since there is no pressure in the exhaust chamber 49, fluid accumulated under pressure in the chamber 31 will cause the valve to open, at which time a major portion of the fluid under pressure in the chamber 31 will rush through the valve opening into the discharge chamber 40, which will permit the spring 38 to slam the weighted portion 35 of the cylinder 32 to the left until the valve again closes to entrap the remaining fluid in the chamber 31 to suddenly stop the weighted cylinder and thus produce a forced vibration that is transmitted through the piston to the bases 11 and 10 in the order named and through the pole faces 3, 4- and 5 to the magnetic object that is being vibrated. The restricted openings 39 prevent the fluid pressure from building up too rapidly in the chamber 31 when the valve seat 25 closes upon the valve surface 24, prior to the position of the weighted cylinder as shown. As soon as the valve is closed, the jolt is transmitted through the fluid in the chamber 31 to the base and the pressure again builds up to expand the chamber 31 and repeat the vibration. By selecting and tuning the springs 27, 28 and 38 one can obtain the desired frequency of vibration with this fluid vibratory cylinder. The ratios of the spring characteristics thus determine the stroke and volume. The pressure of the hydraulic fluid determines the frequency of vibration.

Owing to the fact that the load spring 38 actually functions to deliver the power blow through the operating fluid and the electromagnet to the device to be vibrated, this force is in the proper direction to maintain the electromagnetic holding device seated, and the return or expansion of the cylinder 32 which is materially slower and not as violent since it is functioning against the load spring 38, therefore does not provide a force that would cause the electromagnetic holding device to jump away from its electromagnetic contact. The same is true in regard to the structure shown in FIG. 4.

The electromagnetic vibrator mounted on the electromagnetic holding device as shown in FIG. 4 is only one of several forms of electromagnetic vibrators that could be employed for this purpose. This particular electromagnetic vibrator is well known in the art and may be either of the structures shown in US. Patents 2,310,185 and 2,539,391 and does not comprise this invention, and this structure is therefore not described in detail.

It is preferable to energize the electromagnetic holding device by the direct current which may be readily obtained by supplying a rectified alternating current to the coil 6.

I claim:

1. A vibrator for material in a container having a magnetizable surface comprising an electromagnetic field 4% coil mounted on a core having exposed pole faces which when energized attach and hold to the magnetizable surface of the container, and a vibratory member carried by said core for transmitting vibrations through the core and said magnetized pole faces to the container.

2. The vibrator of claim 1 characterized in that said vibratory member is electromagnetic.

3. The vibrator of claim 1 characterized in that said vibratory member is fluid actuated.

4. A vibrator for loosening material in a container having an outer magnetizable surface, comprising an electromagnet having a magnetic core with a central and outer legs, said core legs being connected at one end and at their other end having central and outer exposed pole faces lying in a common plane, a coil member around said central core leg and inwardly of said pole faces to produce a field, a base secured to the connected end of said core legs, a vibratory member connected to the opposite side of said base, said vibratory member having a reciprocal member energized for oscillation independently of said field, and mounting means to support said reciprocal member for oscillation to deliver its vibratory forces longitudinally of said central core leg and through the magnetized pole faces to the object being vibrated.

5. A vibrator for material in a container having a magnetizable surface comprising an electromagnet having a magnetic core, a coil mounted on said core to magnetize the same when energized, said electromagnet having pole faces lying in a common plane for adaptation to the magnetizable surface of the container to be vibrated, a base secured to said electromagnet on the opposite end from said pole faces, a fluid actuated vibrator mounted on said base and having a stationary piston with a central bore disposed normal to the plane of said pole faces, a weighted cylinder slidable on said piston, a valve seat carried by said cylinder, a valve member slidably mounted in the bore of said piston and closing on the seat of said valve, anabutment on said valve within said piston, a main valve spring between said abutment and the outer end of said piston, an auxiliary valve spring between said abutment and the inner end of said valve spring, a cylinder spring holding said cylinder towards said piston, a connection for fluid under pressure to the bore of said piston, a check valve in said connection, fluid pressure within said piston being effective against said valve member and the interior of said cylinder to move them axially along said piston in the direction away from said electromagnet until the differential pressure of said springs releases the fluid pressure between the valve and the cylinder permitting the springs to return the valve and cylinder and thereby transmit force through the electromagnet to the object to be vibrated.

6. A vibrator for material in a container having a magnetiz'able surface consisting of a holding electromagnet having a magnetic core, a coil mounted on said core to magnetize the same when energized, pole faces on said magnetic core adapted to magnetically engage and hold the magnetizable surface of the container to be vibrated, a base secured to said electromagnet on the opposite end from said pole faces, a vibratory motor mounted on the opposite side of said base from said holding electromagnet and having a movable member to produce vibratory forces that are transmitted through said base and through said pole faces on said magnetic core to the object to be vibrated.

7. A vibrator for material in a container having a magnetizable surface consisting of a holding electromagnet having a magnetic core, a coil mounted on said core to magnetize the same when energized, pole faces on said magnetic core adapted to magnetically engage and hold the magnetizable surface of the container to be vibrated, a base secured to said electromagnet on the opposite end from said pole faces, a vibratory motor mounted on the opposite side of said base from said holding magnet and including an armature mounted to produce vibrations and References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Crawford Apr. 26, 1932 Barber May 15, 1934 10 Seiden June 21, 1938 Anderson Dec. 2, 1941 Hubmann Oct. 4, 1949 Cerminara Nov. 4, 1954 Joy Dec. 14, 1954 Alvord Dec. 6, 1955 Ball Apr. 24, 1956 Mohier June 26, 1956 Joy July 31, 1956 Williamson May 26, 1959 

1. A VIBRATOR FOR MATERIAL IN A CONTAINER HAVING A MAGNETIZABLE SURFACE COMPRISING AN ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD COIL MOUNTED ON A CORE HAVING EXPOSED POLE FACES WHICH WHEN ENERGIZED ATTACH AND HOLD TO THE MAGNETIZABLE SURFACE OF THE CONTAINER, AND A VIBRATORY MEMBER CARRIED BY SAID CORE TRANSMITTING VIBRATIONS THROUGH THE CORE AND SAID MAGNETIC POLE FACES TO THE CONTAINER.
 2. THE VIBRATOR OF CLAIM 1 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT SAID VIBRATORY MEMBER IS ELECTROMAGNETIC. 